February 05, 2014

Paula Cubbage RN, CEN, charge nurse for the Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Department, holds an envelope marked, "Transit vouchers generously donated by the Bethesda Foundation."

Thanks to the Bethesda Foundation, less fortunate patients who come through the Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Department have a way to get home safely.

After the medical center ran out of transportation vouchers, purchased with previous funding from an outside group, the foundation stepped in and gave more than $400 to the emergency department to cover bus fares and taxi cab rides through the end of this fiscal year.

"It's the nicest feeling to know we have help to get these people where they need to go," said Paula Cubbage RN, CEN, charge nurse for the emergency department.

It's not uncommon for staff in the department to reach into their own pockets to give patients the $2 it takes to ride the bus anywhere in Warren County. Employees have even covered the $30 or $40 it costs for a cab to pick up a patient late at night.

"It doesn't matter to this staff who (the patients) are," Paula said. "They just take care of people. That's what this department is all about."

Because of its rural location and proximity to a mental health facility, Arrow Springs sees a lot of mentally-disabled and poverty-stricken patients who come by ambulance and have no way to get home. Already, it's not safe for these patients to walk, and bone-chillingly cold temperatures have made it even more dangerous in the past month, Paula said.

"This has just been a Godsend," she said of the foundation's donation.

The Arrow Springs Emergency Department received a grant from the foundation's Community Outreach program, which has available money set aside for needs like this that come up in between application cycles, said Marilyn Goodrich, senior development officer for the foundation.

In June, Arrow Springs will be able to apply for funding through the Bethesda Auxiliary, in addition to other donations, to cover transportation fares.

"We didn't want them to have to wait (until June), because team members were stepping up, and that goes beyond what they're expected to do," Marilyn said.

The Bethesda Foundation supports Bethesda North, Hospice of Cincinnati, Fernside and the community. Learn more about the foundation and its impact at BethesdaFoundation.com.